Media Discourse Analysis

Catalog description

This course provides students with advanced theoretical approaches and methodological tools to analyze a variety of media discourses. COMMS 555 Media Discourse Analysis (3) This course provides students with both theoretical approaches and methodological tools to analyze a variety of media discourses. It begins with an overview of linguistic theories, including structuralism, poststructuralism, semiotics, and critical discourse analysis. The course highlights the philosophical relationship between language, culture, identities, politics, and intercultural communications. It also prepares students to examine discourses from multiple angles, such as textually oriented analysis, critical analysis, linguistic analysis, ethnographic analysis, etc. The course then leads into a discussion of several common discursive models in media: ritual, myth, and social drama. It ends with case studies of discourse in films, television, news, advertisement, the Internet, and politics. Students are required to do significant reading and writing in this course, and to propose and conduct a project of discourse analysis of their own design.